The 'this was my Multiverse of Madness' trend, explained

One thing about people on Twitter is that they are nevergoing to let the media that defined their youth go. Nostalgia is their life force.

The latest iteration of this trend is the "this was my Multiverse of Madness" meme that's currently all over the timeline, which references Marvel's latest epic, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The concept of the multiverse — a.k.a. the existence of multiple alternate realities — is at the forefront of the internet's mind, thanks to both the new Doctor Strangemovie and the indie hit Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Following this trend is simple. It's typically the phrase "this was my Multiverse of Madness" accompanied by an image of what the user considers to be a chaotic assembly of characters and story lines — so anything from an image of a Disney Channel crossover episode to an unhinged map of a cinematic universe. (This concept stands on the shoulders of the "most ambitious crossover event" meme.) The phrase "multiverse of madness" is so absurd and serious that applying it to anything is funny.

"This was my multiverse of madness" comes at the heels of another trend that follows the same formula: "this was my Heartstopper." Heartstopperis a tender queer romance on Netflix based on a web comic, and it's been making the internet cry happy since since its release a few weeks ago. The Heartstopper meme reminds us of just how little queer representation we've had in the past, but that doesn't mean the tweets aren't hilarious and even heartwarming with people suggesting progressively more outlandish, obscure, and obviously straight pop culture moments as their Heartstopper. The less like Heartstopper the reference, the more entertaining the meme.

Here are a few of our favorite "this was my" memes.

The only mind map that matters

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I've always loved the way they love

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Taylor Swift actually invented the multiverse with the "Look What You Made Me Do" music video

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Skins is always relevant

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The reboot could never

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Ice princes of my heart

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Grabbing my popcorn

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Is "this was my Conversations With Friends" next?